Washington Office

WASHINGTON—On the first day of its 2014 Annual Conference in Las Vegas, the American Library Association (ALA) welcomes news (pdf) from Simon & Schuster that it will convert its pilot library ebook lending program to serve all U.S. libraries. ALA President Barbara Stripling released the following statement:

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld the Fourth Amendment when they ruled in David Leon Riley v. State ofCalifornia and United States v. Brima Wurie that officers of the law must obtain warrants before they can search the cellphones of arrestees. In response to the victorious court decision, Emily Sheketoff, executive director of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Washington Office, released the following statement:

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The American Library Association (ALA) is rallying librarians to support the Online Competition and Consumer Choice Act of 2014, a bill that would prohibit paid prioritization over the Internet. Introduced today by Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the legislation would prohibit Internet service providers from giving preferential treatment to the traffic of online content, applications, services, or devices.

ALA President Barbara Stripling responded today to the introduction of the net neutrality bill:

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld (pdf) the ruling in Authors Guild v. HathiTrust, deciding that providing a full text search database and providing access to works for people with print disabilities is fair use. The court also ruled that the Authors Guild lacked standing, and therefore could not assert infringement claims against the HathiTrust.

LAS VEGAS—From E-rate to network neutrality, national attention is focused on the “need for (broadband) speed” to support innovation, learning and digital inclusion in the modern world. And yet, too many libraries and communities are in danger of falling behind with internet speeds that crawl rather than race to connect people to a world of online resources and services.

Washington, D.C.—Leading library visionaries and experts discuss trends in digital content technology and the current state of library ebook lending in “Digital Discoveries,” a new digital supplement from American Libraries magazine.

LAS VEGAS—How are libraries coping with digitization and copyright? Are these activities legal? On Sunday, June 29, 2014, copyright experts will discuss digital access and mass digitization projects during "Copyright and Digitization+," a conference session that takes place during the 2014 American Library Association Annual Conference in Las Vegas. The conference will be held from 3:00-4:00 p.m. in the Las Vegas Convention Center, room S219.

LAS VEGAS—Hear about current copyright policy challenges and developments at the session "Copyright Hot Topics and Big Ideas," a conference program that will be held at the 2014 American Library Association Annual Conference in Las Vegas. The session will take place from 1:00–2:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 28, 2014, in Las Vegas Convention Center in room N256.

LAS VEGAS—How much do you know about the American Library Association’s (ALA) efforts to advance ebook access in libraries? Learn about recent ebook activities and future plans for digital content more broadly during the session “ALA and Moving Ahead with Digital Content,” a program that takes place during the 2014 American Library Association Annual Conference in Las Vegas. The ALA Digital Content Working Group will host the session on Saturday, June 28, 2014, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. in the Las Vegas Convention Center, room N255/257.